If
you purchased the full version of Design-Ease (single user or network license)
and haven't registered, you can do so on-line at www.statease.com/dx_register.html.

WHAT
IS NEW IN VERSION 7?

A
description of what's new can be found in the help system. In the program, choose
Help/Contents from the menu bar. Under the topic, "Welcome to Design-Ease
7," you will find a section titled, "What's new in version 7 (the
highlights)." The help system has also changed from the standard Windows
Help to HTML format.

INSTALLATION
NOTES

Supported
operating systems

Windows
NTWindows
98 2nd Edition
Widows ME
Windows 2000
Windows XP

System
Requirements

Attribute

Minimum

Recommended

Display
resolution

800x600

1024x768
or greater

Memory
NT,(98SE,ME)/(2000,XP)

128/256
MB

256/512
MB or greater

Processor

Pentium
Pro

Pentium
IV

Operating
system

Windows
98 SE

Windows
XP

Math
Kernel Library (MKL)

Version
7 of Design-Ease uses Intel's Math Kernel Library (MKL) to optimize the computational
speed. It is distributed as part of the installation.

Installing
DLLs

When
you choose "Install Design-Ease 7" from the main menu, the setup
program will warn you if you do not have the proper authority to install system
files. You will need to log out of your current account and log in as an administrator
then restart the installation. Windows 2000 and later will give you an opportunity
to enter a suitable account and password if you don't have administrative rights

Help
file on network

A
recent security change in XP prevents it from opening HTML help files that reside
on a LAN or the Internet. If the de7HelpFile.chm file doesn't work from your
network drive see the Microsoft support document, http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=896054

Follow the instruction for
Method 2 and set the MaxAllowedZone value to 1 to permit LAN access.

New
tool for identifying effects

If
you are analyzing a 2-level factorial, you can now identify unselected effects
(and their values) on the normal/half-normal plots by holding the the Ctrl key
and right-clicking on the point on the graph.

MISSING
FUNCTIONALITY / KNOWN BUGS

June 28, 2006:

BUGS FIXED SINCE
VERSION 7.0.2

No longer get extra
point when using only design points in Numerical Optimization.

Hiding interaction lines
for Numeric by Categoric case now works properly.

Fixed XML file problem
for 2-level factorial block generators.

Y-axis now expanded
to fit LSD bars in original scale for transformed response.

When using design points
as starting points, Optimization now only includes those design points that
meet the criteria.

F1 help now displays
correct topic after scrolling on a report.

Minor user interface
fixes.

Program now remembers
customized contour settings for different types of graphs.

Can now export optimization
graphs to EMF file format and copy Ramps to clipboard.

Fixed various small
graphing problems.

The default response
scale no longer includes ignored runs when calculating range.

Ignored cells display
correctly after deleting or inserting rows.

Minor fixes and enhancements
to model editing.

XML supports equation
only responses.

Fixed problems with
solution flags and buttons in numeric optimization.

Network administrators
now have the ability to add a custom message to the "no more license"
dialog using the LanLimitMsg
parameter in the custdata.ini file. For example, the entry:

[Network]
LanLimitMsg=Call the IT Hotline for assistance

Will display the following
text if no license are available:

User Limit Exceeded
Maximum licenses in use (5)
Call the IT Hotline for assistance

Improvements to Numerical
Optimization solution finding when categoric factors are set to "equal
to."

The program permits
the user to choose to show actual equations for nonhierarchical models.

Ignored effects calculation
improved. We now calculate the model with the ignored effects, then calculate
just the model effects and subtract the difference to get the ignored effects
DF and Sum of Squares which are reported in the ANOVA.

Added option to spread
out center points among blocks when adding blocks.

Allow keystrokes (Ctrl-plus
and Ctrl-minus) to switch between optimization solutions.

Added BoxCox results
to diagnostic report and XML output.

Default is now 3FI for
ignore model in factorial design evaluation.

Default Y-axis low/high
values corrected for transformed models.

FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS

Here
is a sampling of what can be found in the Help system. In the program, choose
Help/Contents from the menu bar. Expand the topic node, "Welcome to Design-Ease
7," and you will find a sub-topic titled "Program Hints and Frequently
Asked Questions."

Q.

I
can't find a command that I expected to be here. Where should I look for
it?

A.

Try
clicking the RIGHT mouse button. In conformance with Windows standards,
the right mouse button is used extensively throughout the program for
various options.

Q.

How
can I import data from a spreadsheet?

A.

Data
can be imported and exported using the standard Windows cut and paste
operations. Simply highlight the group of cells (or select all) and select
copy (Ctrl-C). Go to the program you want to paste them into and select
paste (Ctrl-V).

If
you are trying to import a new design from a spreadsheet, first set up
a similar dummy design in Design-Ease making sure the factor levels
are correctly defined. Next duplicate (or delete) rows in the design layout
to get the desired number of rows. Last, copy and paste the data from
the other source into the design layout over the old dummy data.

Q.

Why
do I get different results than the program gives me when I do the calculations
myself?

A.

Differences
between program results and hand calculations are normally due to a loss
of significant digits when transferring values from Design-Ease to the
program or calculator used to make the calculations. These differences
can be particularly pronounced when a transformation is being used. For
example, for readability, coefficients for the model on the ANOVA sheet
are, by default, only displayed with 2 decimal places. You can increase
the number of decimal places displayed by choosing the "force precision
X decimal places" option under Edit/Preferences/Math.

To
make sure you are not using truncated values, use the standard Windows
cut and paste operations to copy the values (e.g., from the ANOVA sheet)
and paste them directly into the spreadsheet or calculator program you
are using to perform the calculations.

Q.

How
do I view a graph of actual vs. predicted values, or some other combination
of variables, which is not already provided in the program?

A.

This
can be done by inserting one or two blank responses in the design layout
and copying data from reports, like the Diagnostic section at the bottom
of the ANOVA. Then choose Graph Columns using these new columns. The extra
responses can be deleted when you are finished looking at or printing
out the graph.

Q.

In
many cases, it's cost-prohibitive for us to replicate the experiments
to account for experimental variation. Is there a method using DE7 for
us to utilize repetition (multiple samples) in each trial run?

A.

When
there are multiple samples for individual runs, it is important to distinguish
between experimental error (variation in control factors) and sample error
(variation in sample measurements). You need to replicate the whole experiment
to measure experimental error.

To
handle sample error, you can take multiple samples for a particular run
and enter the mean and standard deviation of the measurements as two separate
responses. This will provide you with a single value (the mean), and a
measure of the sample error (the standard deviation). It does not, however,
give you any more information about the experimental error than is already
provided by the hidden replication of the design.

Q.

How
can I change the coding of a factor, or several factors, when the coded
values have gotten messed up? This can happen if you enter actual values
while displaying coded factors or edit the highs and lows in the design
layout rather than the factor info dialog.

A.

Follow
these steps:

Display the data in the design
layout in actual units.

Click on a factor header to
highlight the data in the column.

Copy (Ctrl-C) to the clipboard.

Right click on the column header
and select "edit info..."

Change the +1 / -1 levels to
the actual factor levels. Watch out for CCD's so that you don't enter
the alpha values here.

Click OK and you will see the
actual factor levels change to new incorrect values.

Paste (Ctrl-V) the original
values back into the column. You will get a warning message. Click OK!

Repeat steps 2 to 7 for the
remaining factors.

Unfortunately,
this trick won't work with mixtures as you can't edit the pseudo ranges.
You will need to rebuild the design.

Q.

In
the design builder, parts of the display appear to be missing or overlapping.

A.

The
program was designed for a minimum resolution of 800x600 using small system
fonts. If you are using 800x600 with large fonts, not all views in the
design builder will appear as they should. You can make these screens
usable by turning off the design descriptions that appear at the top of
the screen. To do this, follow these steps:

Get out of the design builder
and go back to the main view.

Select Preferences from the
Edit menu.

In the "Math Design"
section, check the box that is labeled: "Do not display design
descriptions."